The Post-Humphrey week in Taipei was yet another fun one. Met up with a lot of different people that were in Taipei, and my parents also came for about half the week!

Another crucial The Diner run with Sean and Ada

Showing my new BFF Kevin a Mini Gauntlet of Fun

Looking like a fool with Lingray Jiang

Nerding out with Brian as he preps to move to his new crib

Grabbing some DTF Soup Dumps with Clara and John

Hanging with my parents - no flattering pics this time so here's a pic from last year lmao

Icon Collective

Been looking into attending Icon Collective, a music production school based in Burbank, LA. I had the pleasure of speaking with one of their Admissions officers last week, and it definitely gave me a great impression of the school after the chat. As I continue to evaluate what the best path to success is, attending Icon seems like something I definitely would not regret.

Some Thoughts

Been chatting with my dad a lot about my career change, and I can definitely feel the initial doubt and disapproval shifting into excitement and mentorship. My relationship with my dad has always been complex - love, respect, fear, and an uncontrollable, sometimes irrational urge to seek his approval. For better or worse, he's always inspired me to always pursue my task at hand 100% - no mercy, win at all costs. Unbeknownst to him, he's also one of the biggest reasons that I chose to pursue a career in music. He's always forged his own path and chased his dreams. Something burns deep inside me as well that makes me want to find happiness on my own terms.

Making the decision to venture into the unknown is only the start. Sometimes you feel like you're on a roll, and you've made the right choice. Other times you start to miss the safety and reassurance of conventional life. Whatever the case, I'm either going down in flames of glory, or I'll be seeing all of you on the other side!

Here's an interesting and somewhat spiritual graphic of The Hero's JourneyTaken from an article of an interview with Jauz (link)

I don't really know where this post is going now, but I'm going to wrap it up. I feel like I'm somewhere in between the Belly of the Whale and the Road of Trials. I can't wait to meet that F'in Goddess!

Cheers!

]]>Derailed like a motha f'er

Wow. WOW. It's been over two weeks since I posted. I've been completely derailed from the Productivity Train for the past two weeks. But no worries, it's time to get back on track. First step to doing that is by writing again. Writing has been

Wow. WOW. It's been over two weeks since I posted. I've been completely derailed from the Productivity Train for the past two weeks. But no worries, it's time to get back on track. First step to doing that is by writing again. Writing has been a good anchor for me.

BUT - I'm not feeling too guilty about being derailed because I had a very special visitor in Taipei for almost the entire two weeks. None other than my Blood Brother Humphrey "Tall Tertle" Fang. Rofl.

Humphrey In Taiwan

Yep, this mofo is visiting me all the way from NYC. It was an amazing trip, and I'm incepting the idea of moving to Taiwan in his large and intelligent doctor brain. One of the first things I got Humphrey to do was... help set up my home studio! This picture is going to be legendary in 5 years. MARK MY WORDS.

We've known each other since we were 7 years old. Took violin lessons from Mrs. Sias (God Bless her - hope she's doing well). I don't even remember how we grew to be so close before attending UMich, but I do have plenty childhood memories of biking to each others' houses, attending Oasis together, saving Spooktacular, and then ultimately rooming together in college. It's been a long friendship, and I'm looking forward to all of the awesome times to come!

Good Eats

One of the most important parts of visiting Taiwan is eating good food! Taiwanese food is delicious. For some reason, growing up as a Taiwanese American in the States caused Taiwanese food to have a mystical appeal. You have to travel far and wide to find Taiwanese food, especially GOOD Taiwanese food, and it's always a rare occasion. Add the fact that it originates from a tiny island on the other side of the globe where my parents grew up, Taiwanese food seemed like a foreign yet nostalgic gateway to a life that could have been. Here are a bunch of pictures of me and Humphrey eating our way through Taipei.

But at the end of the day, you gotta have some good ol' American breakfast food - The Diner

Hiking Elephant Mountain

We did a mini day hike at Elephant Mountain, a short trail right in the heart of Taipei about a 20 minute walk from where I live. Featuring primarily steep steps all the way to the summit, you are rewarded with nice views of Taipei 101 from a couple different scenic view points.

Selfie at the base before we started climbing

Halfway point selfie

The Man surveying his Domain

Sup Brah?

WE IN TAIPEI!

Hump's Bday + Goin' Out

Oh yeah, Humphrey also spent his birthday in Taipei! March 9th. It was also our good buddy Chris' birthday on the SAME EXACT DAY! This obviously calls for celebrating with a bang!

Pregame as always - Gauntlet Part 1

Kor as always - Gauntlet Part 2 - Where's Bernie!?

The Final Selfie

The last selfie with me, Hump, and Chris right before Humphrey got on his cab to go to the airport. Until next time, my dear friend. Gonna miss you.

The Final Selfie

Some final thoughts

No doubt this was an epic trip. I'm still trying to mentally recover from Fun-Mode and re-enter Work-Mode. One of the things that I came to appreciate the most on this trip was Friendship. Not that I didn't appreciate it before, but I simply loved the fact that my good friends in Taipei could become such good friends so quickly with friends from my past life. Bonds between people are unique and special; and the older I get, the more I am struck by how important relationships with other people are to me. I've always considered myself to be an introvert growing up, but I feel like as I come out of my shell a bit and view myself through a third party lens, I learned that something that gives me the most joy is bringing great people together. Now the brotherhood has an even stronger link between NYC and Taipei, and the next time we all see each other, it's going to be that much more amazing.

Cheers to Taipei, Humphrey's visit, Chris and Humphrey's birthdays!

Now, it's time to get back to work!

Soundtrack Taipei 2018

Music is one of the things that has always brought Humphrey and I together. As with all of the trips we take together, there is always a soundtrack to our time together, and listening to these songs always bring back very vivid memories of our friendship and experiences. Here are the tracks that I will forever associate with Humphrey's Taipei 2018 visit.

My Life - Zhu

Psycho - Post Malone

God's Plan - Drake

]]>Pretty Productive

I was pretty productive last week. Set a lot of goals for myself and stuck to (most) of them.

I was pretty productive last week. Set a lot of goals for myself and stuck to (most) of them.

Creative Writing (very consistent)

Meditate (didn't hit this one as much as I wanted to)

Gym (was very consistent)

Wake up early (nope - continues to be one of my greatest vices)

Work on music (check)

Turns out working on a track for hours at a time can really burn you out. By the time the weekend came, I was ready to break away for a bit and just hang out with friends. That led to some late nights, and my sleep schedule got messed up leading into this week.

Fruit Fly Problem

As I wrote about in one of my previous posts, I've had a fruit fly problem here. I think it was caused by some rotting flowers in the apartment. They were Maggie's birthday flowers, so I didn't want to throw them out. But she's still gotta come back and move the rest of her and Andy's stuff out. Place is coming together, though - Chris has been crashing here a lot and also helped me reorganize a bunch of stuff.

Micro Slump

I feel like I've hit my first micro slump. Struggling to finish this track, waking up late, and I didn't do Object Writing for the past 3 days. It's okay though - I think I'm learning more about my willpower muscle limits and how to better pace myself to prevent burnout. Still been gymming consistently, so that's one Keystone Habit that's holding everything together still. I'm also still on track to have my first dance song finished by this weekend (compositionally). Back to writing, meditating, and waking up early this week.

Cheers!

]]>This is an entry in a series of creating writing posts that I'll be doing. For the previous post, read Object Writing.

Recap

I'm doing a creative writing exercise where I write for ten minutes everyday about a random object. The objective is to use that object as a starting

This is an entry in a series of creating writing posts that I'll be doing. For the previous post, read Object Writing.

Recap

I'm doing a creative writing exercise where I write for ten minutes everyday about a random object. The objective is to use that object as a starting point for expressing yourself through your senses instead of plainly stating how things happen. You can read my previous post for more context. For me, the goal is to become a better lyricist.

Week 1 Reflections

The last section of this post is every single ten minute session that I've done for the past week, which started in February 16th, 2018. These were all done with a timer, and they have not been edited for grammar or anything at all. Here are some overall thoughts I have about my own writing.

I write some dark stuff

A lot of my posts end up being pretty dark. I don't know why it happens, but that's just what pops into my mind. Overall, I consider myself to be a pretty positive and happy person, but I guess it is true that I've always been drawn to shadowy, mysterious, and darker stories. Light Side or Dark Side? Dark Side - easy. Which Hogwarts house? Slytherin. Easy. NEXT QUESTION.

I get stuck in a single narrative

A lot of my posts seem to stick to one storyline. Not always, but I noticed that it's hard for me to fully let my mind wander from sense to sense (as the exercise creator suggests you do on occasion). Not that there is a right or wrong way, but I'd like to allow my thoughts to roam more freely. I suspect that this will be extremely useful when writing lyrics - particularly rap. The artist that pops into my mind when I say that is Childish Gambino. While not necessarily sense-bound, the lyrics jump around from topic to topic rapidly. I can imagine them just flowing out as you allow yourself to let go of the narrative and just see where your brain takes you.

Lyrics from 3005 - Childish Gambino

Hold up, wait a minute, all good just a week ago
Crew at my house and we party every weekend so
On the radio, that's my favorite song
Made me bounce around, like I don't know, like I won't be here long
Now the thrill is gone
Got no patience, cause I'm not a doctor
Girl why is you lying, girl why you Mufasa
Yeah, mi casa su casa, got a stripper like Gaza
Got so high off volcanoes, now the flow is so lava
Yeah, we spit that saliva, iPhone got message from Viber
Either the head is so hydra, or we let bygones be bygones

It's hard to write only through your senses

I'm still writing a lot of statements that don't have sensory descriptions. They add to the story, but aren't "encouraged" for the exercise. All good though, I think things will come more naturally during the later weeks.

My writing seems to reflect my state of mind

One pattern that emerged is that my storylines seem to be about someone who is lost. Trying to survive. Searching for safety, security, or reaching for some checkpoint. Maybe that's a reflection of my own mental state as I embark on this crazy life pivot. Pretty interesting stuff. Kind of creepy too, how that surfaces subliminally through my writing.

Week One Writings

Feb 16, 2018 - Puddle

Feet wet. The damp, slimy feeling of socks made me feel dirty and slightly violated. Cigarette butts and ashes floating on the surface of the murky black and brown puddle as the pittering and pattering of rain started getting louder. The cold drops of water that landed on my face made me notice how warm her hand felt in mine - fingers clasped. The dense smell of Autumn became more pronounced as the leaves grew saturated with water and became a few shades darker.

The surroundings became a blur as we began to run home. The edges of my hood made it hard to see. It felt like I was wearing a helmet. Neck slightly strained because the hood was too small and didn’t have enough slack at the top. Jeans looking like a dalmatian from a different dimension with spots of dark blue scattered everywhere. The tips of my shoes splashed water as I took each step. I noticed a trail of water being flicked from the tip with each step I took like a toy water gun.

As I ran, looking straight ahead to avoid any other pedestrians, I was suddenly struck by the tall buildings surrounding me. Feeling miniscule, as if zooming out on myself from a third party lens would eventually leave me as a speck on a large painting. Just a small detail.

Horns honking, cars driving by and making splashes as the tires hydroplaned over puddles.

Feb 17, 2018 - Pepper

Green and crunchy. The peppery taste so strong that it feels I can smell it. A bit salty and sour after being covered with ranch. Sitting on a hot plate of pasta, smoke dancing upwards as the heat of the food seemed to give off energy. The restaurant is half empty, half full. Voices can be heard everywhere, but it’s not loud to a point where it’s distracting. Plates and glasses clinking as the waitress nearby sets down an order for the other table. Ears stinging from the cold outside. I put my hands on them to warm them up, but can barely feel my hands because my ears are numb.

My stomach rumbles. I feel it tumble and churn. I can imagine the acid viciously bubbling in my belly like a solar flare. Lashing out expectantly for something to burn. Or digest. I pick up a pepper. The hunger settles in and I can feel my head ache. My focus sways back and forth like a pendulum, rocking back and forth between the words you’re saying and how hungry I am. Pasta stringy. The tension on my fork as I twirl the spaghetti reminds me of a a cotton candy machine. The glob of food expanding as it gets layered.

Feb 18, 2018 - Altar

Back aching in the solid wooden bench chairs in the church. The voices of the worship team reverberating in the entire room. An elegant, female soprano voice cuts through my foggy mind like a hot knife through butter. Melting slowly, a puddle forming as drops are oozing down the side. The warmth seeps into the bread as the white dough is stained a light, buttery yellow. The round bread balls, hard to the touch on the outside, arranged neatly in a basket like a bucket of tennis balls. My racket strings crackle as I move them with my fingers. The tension in the strings feels firm in my hand, and the checkered pattern in the racket is back to even spacing. Tennis balls making contact with rackets pop intermittently in the background. Sneakers squeaking as athletes skid to a halt or change directions, clamboring to return or retrieve rallies that their partners are hitting.

Sweat rolls down the sides of my face. Drips from my hair. My bangs tickle my forehead as my hair flops back and forth while I run. Heart racing, breathing heavily as I gasp for air after a sprint. The scorching heat bounces off of the concrete. The smell of hot rubber starts to invade my nose. Heat waves causing the surroundings to look ethereal as the tennis net wriggles back and forth.

Feb 19, 2018 - Hammock

Feet dangling lazily off the edge of her hammock, toes wriggling to get rid of the crusty sand particles still clinging onto her feet. The sun fires it’s ray gun relentlessly down on her. Body warm and tingling from the heat, yet feeling cold and slippery at the same time as remaining water droplets rest peacefully on her stomach. Children laughing, waves crashing, and seagulls cawing overhead. The salty ocean smell lingers in the air, and her nostrils burn a little when inhaling the hot air.

Floating aimlessly in the air, a hot air balloon in the sky looks like a lost lollipop nestled in the white clouds. Fingers now in the air, droplets of water sliding down the sides of her arms. Joints crack as she stretches. Soreness ensues, but the satisfying kind, as if a masseus’s hands are working magic untying the cramps and knots peppering her body.

Sand in the mouth - salty, but mostly bland and a little crunchy. The prickling feeling on her tongue makes her spit reflexively. Sipping cool coca cola, maybe this will wash away the feeling. The carbonated bubbles fizz happily in her mouth, as if happy to finally be liberated from their captor.

Feb 20, 2018 - Diary

Can’t focus - my eyes are open but I can’t see. My mind closes in, thoughts swirl in my head like a violent whirpool. I break out in a cold sweat as I imagine the world finding out my secrets. Leather bound journal, rough to the touch with light scratches on the surface. It smells like a new wallet. Rows and rows of billfolds stacked neatly on the shelf like bleachers at a football stadium. Crowds roaring, kids screaming, parents cheering for the last play of the game. The bright lights of the stadium shine down on the stadium, illuminating the modern-day gladiator fight in front of me as helmets clank into each other and whistles blow. The turf is soggy and brown from the mud. Rain falls from the sky, looking almost like snowflakes from the reflections of light. Sneakers squish and squash as they tread on the turf. Murky water floods up from the dirt underneath.

The noises from the stadium flood my ears as a player in blue dives for a touchdown. Score. Keys clanking in the air in celebration. I stand on the bench and try to see the action, but the fans in front of me are taller. I feel short, and I also feel like my vision is impaired from my inability to see above the throng of people in front of me. Stadium filled with yellow shirts.

Feb 21, 2018 - Trumpet

The alarm buzzes obnoxiously and startles me as I wake abruptly. Eyelids heavy, breathing still deep as if I am in the middle of a REM cycle. Trumpet sounds blaring the Symphony of 1812, the brassy overtones make me wince in disgust. I can imagine the spit from the trumpet players mouth trailing into the metal, rusty instrument. Creeping through the curled tubes like a fat boy stuck on a water slide. Splash - thrown into the water at the end of the slide, submerged in the water. Nose sore from the water pressure deep within the nostrils. Bubbles of air rising in all directions around me like a cloud as I hear the familiar sounds of being submerged under water. I feel the tension of the water against my hand as I wade back and forth. I can feel the movement of others in the pool as the water dances around me, wrapping my entire body. The water becomes dense as I emerge to the surface, transforming into a viscous pink ooze that slimes down my arms and face like the trumpeters saliva. My neck is stiff, and I suddenly feel a stabbing sensation as my vision goes white. I reach back reflexively with my hands and find a segmented metal tube latched to the back of my neck.

Feb 22, 2018 - Cotton Candy

The carnival man’s teethy smile causes a chill to run down my spine as he hands me a large fluffy swab of cotton candy. His long fingernails looking rough, scratched, and the skin underneath looking an unhealthy off-white color from his firm grip on the candy stick. I take the candy from him quickly and immediately feel a sense of safety return as the uncomfortable exchange is finished. The sounds of the fair flood back into my consciousness - bells chiming, children screaming, and rusty old amusement park rides creak and churn as the theme park seems to take on a life of its own.

My toes are icy cold - the circulation has been cut off from when I laced my sneakers too tightly. I kneel down to relace my shoes, and I feel annoyed by the damp and soggy condition that my shoe strings are in. My fingers, now slightly tinted brown from dirt, make me feel unclean. I suddenly smell the muddy, wet, and swamp-like camp grounds and picture the land as if the fair was not here. Mosquitos buzzing around, invisible yet all encompassing. I swat at them in vain, arms slightly sore from all of the wasted effort. An intense thirst for water strikes me as I lick my lips and realize how dry my mouth feels. Tongue rough to the touch, taste of dry mouth makes it hard to swallow my own saliva. I start walking aimlessly like a wanderer lost in the desert, panic slowly setting in as a fear grows within me that I will die from dehydration. Vision blurs. I try to keep my eyes open but my eyelids grow heavy. I’m falling in and out of awareness like a student fighting to stay awake in class.

Feb 23, 2018 - Life Jacket

Feet feeling awkward. He kicks to the side, feeling his muscles contract and expand as tiny bubbles float to the surface. Thump, thump - the sounds of a leather football being passed creates a relaxed rhythm. The water tastes salty and a bit grimy. Head barely floating above the water, calves feel tight and slightly cramped. Looking around and realizing there is no land to be seen, suddenly he feels extremely vulnerable and miniscule. The loud, sustained honking of a ship rings overhead. Liquid gets stuck in the esophagus, uncontrollable coughing of water and mucus. The neon orange life jacket floating nearby sticks out like a sore thumb, a stark contrast in color compared to the clear, light blue sea. A wave of relief washes over him as the life jacket becomes a mental checkpoint for survival. Now swimming freestyle, his hands cutting into the water, fingers in the shape of a paddle. Push, breathe, gasp, push. The more tension he feels against his flailing arms gives him reassurance that progress is being made. What was once an orange speck in the distance is now within arms reach. With one final kick of his legs in a scissor formation, he feels his body surge through the water, feels a slight pain in his shoulders as he stretches out as far as he can to grasp the life jacket. Soft, malleable plastic over a layer of foam. His fingers clamp down on the familiar firm-yet-squishy material.

These mofos have been procreating somewhere in my apt. Which is dumb, cuz I don't have any food sitting around. There aren't throngs of them - I can only see one at a time. But right when I am finally able to put one of their tiny miserable lives out of existence, another guy just comes out of the woodworks right on cue and continues to torment me. I must have been the mastermind behind a massive and successful fruit fly genocide in my past life, because I can't think of anything else that would cause me to deserve this kind of suffering.

I'ma buy a frog

So apparently natural predators of fruit flies are spiders, frogs, and chickens. Since spiders are gross, and nobody wants to deal with a pet chicken, it appears that the only logical solution to my problem is to buy a frog. Look at this beautiful creation of nature!

"Sup Bitch?! I'ma EAT YO ASS LIKE RIGHT NOW SON"

That's exactly what I would train my pet frog to say every time he gobbles down a fly. Hell, I'd even bring him to a fruit fly farm and let him go to town to exact vengeance on behalf of his proud owner - AKA ME.

I'm so ticked off.

And YES - I know that the photo of this post is a FLY not a FRUIT FLY. But, that episode of Breaking Bad represents my irrational frustration over the situation. Go F yourself.

Bye!

]]>Consistency Matters!

All right, so in true fashion to honor my decision to become a real person again, I'm going to stay consistent with my writing habits. One of the key points that I took away from The Power of Habit, a book I read a few years ago (and

All right, so in true fashion to honor my decision to become a real person again, I'm going to stay consistent with my writing habits. One of the key points that I took away from The Power of Habit, a book I read a few years ago (and I think I wrote about at some point), was the importance of building Keystone Habits. In short, a keystone habit is a routine that you create, which when performed consistently for at least six weeks, will have a positive "spillover effect" on other aspects of your life (including other habits you are trying to reinforce). Something as simple as making your bed everyday may indirectly give you the motivation you need to hit the gym later. Or eat a healthy breakfast. I won't go into more detail here, but would highly recommend you to read the book. It can be a bit gimmicky at times, but overall I feel it provides pretty interesting insights on how humans are creatures of habit - and more importantly - how to take advantage of this fact.

Anyway, tangent aside, I've decided to make writing and meditating (Headspace) everyday my keystone habits, and I'm attempting to tip the "positive-reinforcement" spillover bucket in the direction of my music production and health.

Man With A Plan

Okay, so you want to pursue music. You've left your job. And then moved out of the country. Got your gear. Had a sick vacation. Now you're sitting at your new desk - first day on the job. Now what?

The feeling of working for yourself is incredibly liberating. You feel like an eagle, soaring majestically and freely through the skies. Not to mention that eagles have no natural predators, so you can literally fly around and murder other living things GTA-style with pretty much no consequences. There is no limit to where and how far you can go. At the same time, the unrestricted freedom can be overwhelming and crippling. Not unlike having way too many f'ing options on a restaurant menu, too many choices can make it difficult to arrive at a decision. Even worse, if you order a bad dish - big whoop - don't order it next time. When it comes to planning your own life decisions, how do you know that each step you take is going to lead you to the life you want? And how do you determine if you're making progress?

Quantitatively - with objectives and measurable results (OKRs, anyone? LoLz). One of my objectives is to create an EP. That seems to go hand in hand with learning a plethora of things, such as expertise within a DAW, sound design, mixing - and after, marketing and promotion. How to build a following, submit demos to label A&R's, etc. Instead of diving into the trenches of each individual knowledge-acquisition-rabbit-hole, I've decided to get to my lofty goal of EP by winning a series of smaller battles.

The Shitty Drop Series

This train of thought led me to The Shitty Drop Series, which is where I will create a new build-up and drop to completion. Over, and over, and over again. No matter how shitty it is, the important thing is that I complete it. A perfectionist mindset is dangerous when creating art, because it's easy to get discouraged and never complete anything.

I don't think this will be limited to build-ups and drops (BND's), but it's what I'll start with. It's also too good of a name to change, so no matter what kind of music fragment I create, it will still have a home in The Shitty Drop Series.

I will create at least two BND's a week, and I will post them here to keep myself accountable. No matter how shitty.

I've spent a significant amount of time thinking about how to take my first step. There's direction now. It's time to get going.

Seoul Shenanigans

So according to my Google Photos timeline, I arrived in Seoul on June 26th, 2017. Three weeks after I first got to Taipei. My college buddy, Wooseok, was in Seoul for summer break (he's doing a PhD at University of Michigan). Another good friend, Ed, was also in Korea at the time for wedding festivities with his recent fiancee and now wife, Dasol.

Wooseok and I got an Airbnb in Itaewon, one of the bumpin', tourist-friendly districts of the city. He showed me around the city (again - I also visited him in 2011 with two other friends), and we did an epic city nightlife tour of Gangnam, Hongdae, and Itaewon.

Korean Drinking Culture

From what my friends tell me and also what I witnessed... man, South Koreans can drink. It's not uncommon for Korean yuppies to drink with their work pals (and often managers) three or more times a week. It's also impolite to refuse drinks that an elder pours for you, so there is a degree of corporate hazing that happens in these social situations. Regardless of how late you stay out the previous night, you're still expected roll into work tomorrow. Thankfully, we did not have anything to do the next day other than some light sightseeing!

For us, the soju shots start early - pretty much with dinner at around 8pm.

First night - eating KBBQ outdoors in Gangnam. We ate here with Ed, Dasol, and one of Dasol's friends from North Carolina, Ann.

It's also expected that patrons order one large dish to eat at almost all bars in Korea. That means that there was a lot of Double Meal and even Triple Meal action going on. Good thing I absolutely love Korean food! Here's me, Wooseok, and Ed enjoying each other's company at a bar we wound up at after dinner.

Touristy Stuff

During the daytime, Wooseok and I explored Seoul. We checked out the N Seoul Tower, walked around the Hongdae shopping area, played pool, and ate a ton of really good food.

Lover's bridge locks at Seoul Tower

Hongdae shopping and night market

Random street I decided to take a picture of for some reason

Seoul National University

One of the highlights of the trip was checking out Seoul University, the best school in South Korea. Wooseok's dad (and mom?) is a professor there, and Woo also took some classes at the school before. During his time there, he played on their football team, the Green Terrors. We visited and caught a scrimmage that his old team was running. It was a bit rainy and overcast, but overall an awesome local experience that I would never have if I was exploring alone.

Iconic Seoul National University Landmark

Walking to the football field

Green Terrors locker room

My attempt at an artistic equipment shot

Random, but this is me posing with a Kakao Talk bear guy

Epic Four Day Trip

We went out the first three nights of my trip, but the last night finished things in classic South Korean fashion - at a PC Bang! Lmao. Wooseok and I played some 2v2 SC BW and got WRECKED. It was super depressing. Then we played some Pop Kart, and I got WRECKED. Even more depressing. Overall though, nothing quite like being in a PC cafe. I felt the itch to start playing World of WarCraft again, but thankfully that feeling was quelled by my fear of commitment to video games.

Thanks, Woo, for showing me such an awesome time in Korea. He visited me in Taipei a few weeks later, and I'm pretty sure Wooseok now loves Taiwan too.

See y'all in the next post of the Asia Trip series!

]]>Write Better Lyrics

I'm reading a book right now called Write Better Lyrics (link) that has tips on how to - YOU GUESSED IT - write better lyrics LoLz. I've always enjoyed writing, whether it was for school essays (yes, I liked writing essays), or stream-of-consciousness blog posts. Or, Pokemon

I'm reading a book right now called Write Better Lyrics (link) that has tips on how to - YOU GUESSED IT - write better lyrics LoLz. I've always enjoyed writing, whether it was for school essays (yes, I liked writing essays), or stream-of-consciousness blog posts. Or, Pokemon fanfics back in the day. Lmao. Sidenote - for those of you that have never read it, Pokemon Master shaped my childhood. It's an epic fanfic based in the Pokemon world, but in a dystopian future. Anyway.

I dove right into the book, but I had to slow down because it's so dense with useful tips and creative writing insights that I felt myself being a bit overwhelmed. The book presents a lot of exercises that you can practice to improve your writing. The first concept that is covered is "Object Writing".

Object Writing

The argument that the author presents is that showing a reader how something feels instead of telling them is more immersive. Our senses receive large amounts of information everyday, and we only process a tiny fraction of this data with our brain. However, the information that we aren't actively aware of still exist in the recesses of our mind, and they can be summoned with the right sensory triggers. As readers, when we read how something smells like cinnamon or that a rug feels soft and furry, we draw upon our own experiences and can more vividly be in the moment with the author.

In addition to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell; we have two additional senses. One is an "organ sense", which is awareness of how things inside our body feel, like how our heart is beating, or how our lungs are out of breath. The second is a "kinesthetic sense", which is how we feel in relation to our surroundings. Feeling seasick, being drunk with blurred vision, or feeling claustrophobic. Free and liberated in an open field, or cramped and squashed in an uncomfortable airplane middle seat.

One of the exercises is to pick a random physical object. A puddle, for example. And then write about it through these seven senses for ten minutes everyday. Use it as a launching pad for any kind of writing - no boundaries. Doesn't have to stick to a single storyline unless you want it to. Doesn't have to be in complete sentences. Write about anything, as long as you are using sensory descriptions.

I'm on Day 2 so far, and it has been fun and challenging. Sometimes I feel like I'm running out of things to write about, and other times I feel like I just don't know a good way to express what's on my mind.

Here was my first 10-minute session. Stopped right when the timer went off.

Puddle

Feet wet. The damp, slimy feeling of socks made me feel dirty and slightly violated. Cigarette butts and ashes floated on the surface of the murky black and brown puddle as the pittering and pattering of rain started getting louder. The cold drops of water that landed on my face made me notice how warm her hand felt in mine - fingers clasped. The dense smell of Autumn became more pronounced as the leaves grew saturated with water and became a few shades darker.

The surroundings became a blur as we began to run home. The edges of my hood made it hard to see. It felt like I was wearing a helmet. Neck slightly strained because the hood was too small and didn’t have enough slack at the top. Jeans looking like a piece of abstract artwork with spots of dark blue scattered everywhere. The tips of my shoes splashed water as I took each step. I noticed a trail of water being flicked from the tip with each step I took like a toy water gun.

As I ran, looking straight ahead to avoid any other pedestrians, I was suddenly struck by the tall buildings surrounding me. Feeling minuscule, as if zooming out on myself from a third party lens would eventually leave me as a speck on a large painting. Just a small detail.

Horns honking, cars driving by and making splashes as the tires hydroplaned over the miniature man made ponds.

What's Next

I've enjoyed writing, but I also feel strangely unsatisfied by the results because I'm unable to adequately express what's in my head with words. Practice will improve things though!

I also feel like I get too constrained in a story, or in a specific setting. Need to just let loose and let the words come out without too much thought. Classic over-analytical engineer mentality!

What's next? I plan to keep at this for at least 6 weeks. The next chapter begins talking in depth about similes and metaphors. The differences, how they're powerful, and how to get creative with them.

Considering doing a daily post with each word that I pick for Object Writing, but I feel a little too exposed if I do that. We shall see how I feel about it later!

]]>New Beginnings

Just sort of moved into my new place in Taipei. My set up is good to go now. Spent about 2 hours looking for my bluetooth dongle, but it was well worth it! Got my wireless mac keyboard and touchpad working again.

Just sort of moved into my new place in Taipei. My set up is good to go now. Spent about 2 hours looking for my bluetooth dongle, but it was well worth it! Got my wireless mac keyboard and touchpad working again.

Took an Uber to move all of my stuff from my grandparents' place over. Place is looking like a mess still, but should all come together in about a week.

Next, I need to buy a guitar stand and get the mics set up. Updates to come!

Oh yeah, and Happy Chinese New Year!

]]>So I'm back in Taipei. Again! Been nomad-lifing way too hardcore. I'm beat. Completely. I just want some semblance of stability. Moving into a new(ish) place tomorrow, so I'm glad that the both the end to moving around and the beginning of my new life are within arms reach.]]>https://www.bigendians.com/2018/02/13/back-in-taipei-again/d01c5d5a-f334-4627-89c1-f3c95c00e343Wed, 14 Feb 2018 07:19:34 GMT

So I'm back in Taipei. Again! Been nomad-lifing way too hardcore. I'm beat. Completely. I just want some semblance of stability. Moving into a new(ish) place tomorrow, so I'm glad that the both the end to moving around and the beginning of my new life are within arms reach.

Flight was rough. Originally, I was going to fly from NY to SHA and then transfer to TPE. But due to some unforeseen political issues between China and Taiwan, a bunch of flights got cancelled. I had to rebook while I was in Cali, and the next best option was to go from NY to Detroit to Tokyo to Taipei.

Flight leaving from Detroit got delayed by 1.5 hrs, which caused me to miss my connection flight in Tokyo. Had to wait an additional 3+ hours for my next flight. But! I finally made it last evening a little past midnight. Zombie mode to the max. I was extremely light headed and just ready to pass out.

Anyway, at least the hot water was working this time when I got to the apartment. Took a nice hot shower, got into my PJs, and crawled into bed for an epic and restful sleep.

I'm feeling frustrated, but talking to people helps me appreciate what I have instead of focusing on the negative things. I've always thought that loyalty and integrity are the most important traits that I wanted to cultivate. Now I'm adding gratitude to that list.

]]>Spoilers follow - be warned.

Just read a critical article about the latest Star Wars movie that really spelled out why I didn't like the movie very eloquently. Check it out, if you have the time and interest.

I watched the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, with a group of friends on its opening day. We aren't die hard Star Wars fans who can recite every line or speak Ewokese. But still, I'd say we are avid fans that were enthralled by the world that George Lucas created as children, and we were all eager to see how the next chapter of the story would unfold.

It seems like there are two camps - those who think the latest movie was a sarcastic cop-out movie that seemed almost like a parody, and those who believe the movie should be judged at face value as an entertaining, funny, and good blockbuster hit.

Anyway, here are a few quotes from the article I linked above that resonated with me.

The sarcastic twists and subversions are so relentless that they no longer feel shocking.

What’s more, despite the relentless cop-outs and twists, the movie still felt painfully safe. Whereas Johnson gets so much credit for “doing something new,” all he did was turn the tables on J.J. Abrams “mystery box” ethos — that creating small mysteries helps hook audiences — by throwing away each and every one of those boxes.

But this feels like the lesser option to nuking the boxes. For instance, what if Finn was killed? What if Rey turned evil and joined Kylo? What if Luke was left alive, now that both his apprentices have turned evil? The series had an opportunity to dive into truly unexpected territory, an undiscovered country that would have left audiences gasping—rather than smirking.

There was so much potential for some new and unique storylines. The jokes were funny, but they made the movie feel cheap. Just my 2 cents.

]]>Flew back to the States again recently and helped my family move into a new house. We officially have a home base again in the US! A momentous occasion indeed. Definitely feels good to have some place to call home again, especially after the past 8 months of globetrotting.

Flew back to the States again recently and helped my family move into a new house. We officially have a home base again in the US! A momentous occasion indeed. Definitely feels good to have some place to call home again, especially after the past 8 months of globetrotting.

Had an incredibly productive week setting everything up and running errands non-stop. Here's a list of some of the things we did...

Set up internet (surprisingly one of the easiest tasks. Thanks, Xfinity - NOT! I still hate you with the the burning passion of 1000 suns)

Got my furniture out of storage in South SF. Finally, no more monthly storage cost burn!

Got access to the security gates for my car

Played beer pong with my mom, Sandy, and Chris :D

Sandy and Chris flew in from NYC to help us move too. It was fun having a mini-reunion in a bare bones house. Despite not having much furniture or internet at the time, it definitely felt like home.

Front view of our house when we picked up the keys

Unearthed some of my precious old things

Always gotta have the cubes

Brunch at Denny's

Harassing Sandy (it's a 24/7 job)

Celebratory dinner with Mom after everything started settling in!

I keep talking about the feeling of having a HOME. It's a hard feeling to describe. Born and raised in the States, but parents moved to Shanghai when I was in high school. Guess we are the definition of an international family, as one of my friends once said. But for the past 12 years or so, we've been scattered across the world. Spending time in this house with my family made me extremely nostalgic, and a lot of old memories of growing up in Michigan kept popping up in my head.

I've only been gone for a few days, but I miss home. I miss my parents. I miss my sister, Chris, my friends. I miss having the stability of my old life. Sometimes I wonder if/when I'll have that kind of feeling again. But at the same time I know it's something I'm not ready to go back to yet.

Anyway, lots of work to be done instead of sitting here writing to myself like a dramatic nerd.

I packed up my bags at the beginning of June 2017 in San Francisco and bought a one way ticket to go to Taipei, Taiwan. Well, first I made a pit stop to NYC and hung out with family and friends for a bit. I was

I packed up my bags at the beginning of June 2017 in San Francisco and bought a one way ticket to go to Taipei, Taiwan. Well, first I made a pit stop to NYC and hung out with family and friends for a bit. I was in Asia for about 5 months, and I visited Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China.

Honestly, this was the trip of a lifetime, but I didn't really quite appreciate how insane and completely "living in the moment" it was until I got back to NYC. My flights to Hong Kong and Japan were purchased the day before I flew out. I went to Japan with a one-way ticket, and I didn't even know when I was going to fly back to Taiwan.

I've always been the type of person that likes to have a plan and goal in mind, but for this trip... my goal was to just relax, explore a different part of the world, and do a lot of self-reflection on what kind of life I want. I think I owe myself that much.

In January of 2018, I'll be moving back to Taipei for at least one year to open a music studio with my good friend Andy.

I wanted to write about all of my experiences in Asia while I was there, but that obviously did not happen. There was just too much going on. I figure now is as good of a time as ever to start reflecting on my adventures.

This will be a long series of posts, since I did so much and visited so many places in Asia.

Taipei is Home Base

I subleased an apartment in Taipei for 4 months. It was in the same building as my friend, Andy, and the unit is actually owned by his landlord's sister (or some other family connection). Much thanks to Andy and Maggie for connecting me with the landlord.

This is what the apartment looked like:

Comfortable and convenient. Many lazy weekdays and weekends were spent here.

I spent the first month or so getting used to the city, and I spent a lot of time traveling to different neighborhoods just to soak everything up.

Neighborhood map of Taipei

I spent most of my time in Xinyi, Da'an, and also a good amount of time in Zhongshan and Songshan.

Xinyi is a pretty commercial area, and it's where a lot of newer constructions and high-rise apartment buildings are located.

Da'an is more residential, and it has a more local Taiwan feel. The streets are teeming with hipster coffee shops, cool speakeasys, and great food. After a few months in Taiwan, Da'an is my favorite neighborhood by far.

This is what a typical street in a residential neighborhood in Taipei looks like:

Some random stands from a day time market

Some Taiwanese breakfast food :)

Soup dumps

The Citi Bike of Taipei - UBike

Beitou Public Library

Just some more food

Cool seating area at an outdoor theater in Da'an Forest Park

Famous touristy mango shaved ice spot on Yong Kang Street

Hanging with Andy at the studio

Chilling with my parents at Commune A7

Less than a week after this last picture was taken, my parents flew back to Shanghai (they were only visiting Taipei for a few days), and I hopped on a flight to go visit some of my college buddies who were in Seoul for the summer.

Thoughts on Taipei and Taiwan

I felt at home pretty quickly in Taipei. The culture is familiar to me, since my parents are both Taiwanese, and I also went to first grade in Taiwan. At the same time, everything was so foreign still, since I was raised in the US and cannot really read Chinese that well. It's a strange feeling, but it was exciting and interesting. Lots of conflicting emotions.

I'll admit, for the first half of my trip, I would simply be walking around a subway station or just on any street and wonder - "Where the F am I right now?" Everyone is Asian. I can't read any signs. Nobody is speaking English. This never bothered me - it was more shocking and hilarious. Especially when I first landed in Taipei - I was literally sitting in front of a computer writing code a week ago in San Francisco. Now I'm exploring the city that my parents grew up in on the other side of the globe.

Taiwan is a lovely place - the people are so incredibly friendly, welcoming, and generous. I've met so many new people in Taiwan that I will be friends with for the rest of my life.

I will say, though, that the weather in Taiwan (and Asia in general) sucks major donkey balls. Typhoons, unbearable humidity, and scorching heat waves. Other than the weather, Taipei is a really comfortable place to live.

Is it my top choice to live in Asia? Probably not for long-term, actually. I think I would prefer Shanghai, but more on that in a later post.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I'm glad I finally got myself to start posting a bit about my epic, EPIC, INSANE Asia adventures.

]]>Hiking with my cousin in Taiwan!

One of the awesome things about coming to Taiwan is reuniting with family members. Growing up, my sister and I were super close with one of our cousins on my dad's side of the family. She mentored us in the ways of staying up

One of the awesome things about coming to Taiwan is reuniting with family members. Growing up, my sister and I were super close with one of our cousins on my dad's side of the family. She mentored us in the ways of staying up late, dealing with acne outbreaks, and she taught us many other valuable life lessons.

Ever since moving to Taiwan, I've been able to hang out with my cousin, Sophie, just like old times. This past Sunday, she took me on a pretty epic hike in a town northeast of Taipei called 金瓜石 (Jinguashi).

Super brief Chinese kinship terminology breakdown

涵姐姐 (Han Jie Jie) is what my sister and I call my cousin.

The last character of Chinese names are often used as nicknames or prefixes before kinship terms. In this case, 涵 (Han) is the last character in my cousin's name, and 姐姐 (Jie Jie) means elder sister. Technically, she is my 表姐 (Biao Jie), which means elder female cousin.

But ANYWAYS, moving on - that was a strange tangent that I don't feel like removing from my post.

金瓜石 (Jinguashi)

金瓜石 is a historic town about 25 miles away from Taipei to the northeast - a little under a one hour drive. It's known for being the home of gold and copper mines as well as a lot of mountain ranges coastal views.

茶壺山 (Teapot Mountain)

Our first stop was a hike up 茶壺山 (Teapot Mountain). It was about a 1.5 hour round trip hike up to the summit and back. Although, I don't think we started at the very first trailhead - we drove up to a midpoint.

Started with some scenic views and lots of steps.

The weather was brutally hot, but that's just part of the uh, charm, that comes with being in Taiwan during the summer! About halfway up, we took a break at a small shrine. As you keep climbing up, the summit comes into view.

Things get harder from this point. The paths are no longer paved, and you have to climb over rocky paths with some careful footwork and ropes.

This is not a flattering picture of me, but I just picked it because I look kind of jacked.

And... we reach the summit. Views are worth it. If only we had brought a sandwich to reward ourselves with at the top!

Woo! Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a good hiking trail close to Taipei.

Luckily, we still had a lot of time leftover in the day. We took advantage of that by hitting up two other spots.

南雅奇石 (Nan Ya Qi Shi)

And the last stop of our day trip was to a place called Nanya Rock Formations a bit further north east to the Shinto Shrine and Teapot Mountain. It's a beach front with a lot of large, oddly shaped rocks that have been corroded over time by waves.

And that sums up the day trip. Thanks 涵姐 for showing me all of these awesome spots!

Until next time, friends!

]]>Adventure Time

The past 1.5 years of my life have been filled with crazy adventures and extreme changes.

The past 1.5 years of my life have been filled with crazy adventures and extreme changes.

I left Google and joined Verily to work on surgical robotics

I moved from New York City to San Francisco

I bought my first car!

After one year, I left my job at Verily to explore opportunities in Asia

I broke my lease in SF, put all of my belongings in storage, and moved to Taipei, Taiwan. (Everything worked out, and I even got my security deposit back!)

People always ask me how I feel, and I used to be at a loss for words. The closest description I can offer is that it feels like all the energy from a DBZ fusion dance of Excitement and Terror is bottled up inside my gut at all times.

In this post, I'll talk about why I decided to leave my job and move to Asia, and then I will give a brief update of what has been going on since I made the move.

Entrepreneurial itch?

My parents are entrepreneurs, and they've been running their own business since 1996. I grew up in a very scrappy start-up family environment - something which I took for granted when I was younger. I distinctly remember reciting lines for my Chinese school speech contest for my mom to critique in sixth grade. It was almost midnight on a Thursday evening, and we were in my parents' company's warehouse. My mom was using one of those red packaging tape dispensers to seal dozens of boxes containing steering wheels. The crackling rips of tape being separated from the roll echoed intermittently in the large open space while she corrected my grammar. For whatever reason, it didn't register with me until years later that these boxes that would be shipped out the next morning are what generated the revenue that would eventually put me through college.

As someone that has only worked at large companies, my parents' business seems like pure insanity to me. The self-sufficiency, the drive, the risk! As I got older, I realized that I want to put myself out there and try to do something different. I want to create value with my skills, and I want to take complete ownership in what I'm doing.

It's a big world out there

I felt the urge to travel and experience new things. My parents have lived in Shanghai for more than a decade; my dad moved there when I was in highschool, and my mom moved there when I was in college. My sister and brother-in-law are avid travelers, and they both have work that brings them to Africa, India, and other places completely different than the US.

America will always be home to me. But I realized that I wanted to try living abroad. I wanted to gain some different perspectives about society, politics, and the general human condition. How can you achieve that if you're always reading news written by people that have only experienced the same things as you? How do you truly open your mind and empathize with someone with completely different beliefs?

I've always been visiting Asia with the mentality that it was a brief vacation away from my permanent residence. Just three weeks - I'll be a tourist and hang out a bit. After, I'll go back home and return to "normal" life. It wasn't until late 2016 that I felt, for the first time, that I could see myself living outside of the US for a few years.

I realized that if I did not make this move, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

We all have the urge to get out of our comfort-zone. To experience new things. I realized that if I did not take control of steering the direction of my life, I would be on auto-pilot on the course of comfort and stability. I figured a short detour from that path would be something worth trying.

It definitely has not been an easy transition. Every bit of excitement and adventure has also come hand in hand with different kinds of hardships. I'm thankful for all of the friends and family I have who support me, and I'm eager to see what the future has in store.